美国国家公共电台 NPR--New York approves new private school regulations

New York approves new private school regulations

Transcript¹

The state of New York is tightening² rules for religious schools. A scathing³ story in The New York Times recently pointed⁴ out failings in many ultra-orthodox Jewish schools for boys.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today, for the first time, New York's private schools must prove they offer English, math and other fundamentals or risk losing government funds. The state Board of Regents oversees⁵ New York schools, and they're the ones who voted in new rules on Tuesday after a New York Times investigation⁶ that showed shortfalls at ultra-Orthodox Jewish boys schools. Here's Sophia Chang of WNYC.

SOPHIA CHANG, BYLINE⁷: The new regulations will mandate⁸ that all private schools provide specific instruction in English, ensure teachers are competent in their subjects and require lessons in subjects like math and history. Beatrice Weber is the mother of six sons who all attended yeshivas, or schools for boys who belong to the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish sect⁹. Some of these yeshivas teach students almost completely in Yiddish and focus on religious studies, even though laws require a minimum of instructional time in English language and core academic subjects every day. Weber's 9-year-old son attends one such Hasidic yeshiva in Brooklyn, where she says he can read English better than the teacher.

BEATRICE WEBER: By the time they were in third grade, the teachers would reach out to my son to do the reading for them. Recently, the teacher had to ask my son to read words such as look, L-O-O-K; long, L-O-N-G.

CHANG: It's these conditions that have alarmed observers like Naftuli Moster of Young Advocates for Fair Education, which lobbies for better secular¹⁰ education in private schools. Moster estimated there are 65,000 students in New York state alone who attend private schools that don't meet state education standards.

NAFTULI MOSTER: That means that tens of thousands of children in New York state go through their entire schooling¹¹ never, ever having learned the basics of science or social studies, history, civics - none of that whatsoever¹².

CHANG: While New York has had a law since 1894 requiring all private schools to provide an education that's substantially equivalent to that of public schools, enforcement has been spotty. Schools now have three years to comply with the rules. Critics have called the regulations government overreach. One group, Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty in Schools, said that families have chosen to send their children to religious schools because, they said, they believe in the mission and educational approach of those schools' leaders.

For NPR News, I'm Sophia Chang in New York City.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

3 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

9 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

10 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

11 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

12 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。